


You Don't Have To Say You Love Me

by galacticsugar



Series: tumblr prompts - ways to say i love you [2]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Swearing, Tumblr Prompt, and michael loves luke, it is the fluffiest fluff, luke loves cheesy romcoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticsugar/pseuds/galacticsugar
Summary: Michael wishes he knew what higher power decided it would be fun to make him fall in love with someone as cheesy as Luke Hemmings, because he’d like to call in a complaint. It’s become a real problem for him. He can’t say no to Luke, Luke can’t say no to romantic comedies, and Michael doesn’t know if he can stomach another weekend of cliches and overwrought declarations of love.***tumblr prompt "Cross my heart and hope to die."
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings
Series: tumblr prompts - ways to say i love you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138103
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	You Don't Have To Say You Love Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Woahsos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woahsos/gifts).



> for the tumblr prompt "cross my heart and hope to die" from [peyton](https://escapesos.tumblr.com/).

Michael wishes he knew what higher power decided it would be fun to make him fall in love with someone as cheesy as Luke Hemmings, because he’d like to call in a complaint. It’s become a real problem for him. He can’t say no to Luke, Luke can’t say no to romantic comedies, and Michael doesn’t know if he can stomach _another_ weekend of cliches and overwrought declarations of love.

“Please Michael?” Luke pleads, blue eyes wide. He’s begging Michael to watch some Netflix romcom with him instead of his original plan of shutting himself in a dark room to play video games all day. It’s not fair, because Luke knows what he’s doing. He knows Michael can’t resist those eyes, blinking down at him sweetly, accompanied by a small pout that threatens to droop into a sad frown if Michael says no.

With a heavy sigh, Michael drops onto the sofa and gestures at Luke expectantly. “Fire it up.”

Luke lets out a celebratory cheer and queues up the movie, then settles himself on the sofa, legs draped over Michael’s lap. The movie starts and Michael groans when he hears the opening notes of _Black Horse and a Cherry Tree_. Is there some law that this song has to be in every romantic comedy ever made after 2004? This song haunts his nightmares.

Luke knows Michael hates _Black Horse and a Cherry Tree_ and laughs at Michael’s expense as it plays over a montage of a woman organizing colorful Post-Its in her planner. 

“Shut up or I’ll leave.” Michael shoots Luke a warning look and Luke stifles his laughter, pulling his lips into a thin line to hide his smile. It doesn’t work, not even a little bit, because it just highlights his fucking dimple and Michael looks away before a fond smile can break through his facade of annoyance.

The movie is awful. Though he’d never admit it to Luke, Michael actually enjoys a lot of the romantic comedies Luke forces him to watch, but this is not one of them. “Why does she keep doing that thing with her voice when she talks to the guy?” Michael asks, rubbing Luke’s ankle to pull his attention.

“What thing?” Luke asks, in a high-pitched baby voice that is almost a perfect match to the actress in the movie.

“Stoooooop!” Michael whines, shaking Luke’s legs. “It’s so creepy!”

“What, you don’t think it’s sexy when I talk to you wike a wittle baby?” Luke emphasizes the baby voice at the end of his sentence, taunting Michael with his eyes.

Michael shakes his head, fighting the smile tugging at his lips. “I hate it.”

“So you _don’t_ want me to talk like a baby to turn you on, got it.” Luke nods like he’s taking a mental note and they go back to watching the movie.

Post-It woman is telling her friends about all the sparks that flew between her and the male lead during their meet cute, but Michael is not having it. “What’s so great about that guy anyway? He has zero charisma and they talked to each other like strangers on a bus. No chemistry whatsoever.”

Luke grins at how worked up Michael’s getting, then shrugs in response. “I dunno. He’s got good hair?”

“Right, and that’s the most important thing for a healthy relationship,” Michael scoffs. “This movie is such garbage.”

But something happens about two thirds of the way through the movie. The male lead is giving a romantic speech to the baby-talking Post-It woman, and even though the dialogue is cliche and terrible, the sentiment really tugs at Michael. 

The guy is telling Post-It woman how beautiful and talented she is, even when she doesn’t see it herself. How much she improves his life, how much she brings out the best in him. How he doesn’t feel like he can ever be good enough for her, but he wants to try. On screen, the guy wraps up his speech, gathering Post-It woman’s hands in his and leaning in close to her. “I might not ever be enough for you, but every day, I’m going to try. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

He should be rolling his eyes. But it’s just...it’s what Michael feels about Luke. He wouldn’t say it exactly that way, for a lot of reasons, but the words still capture his feelings with eerie accuracy. And looking over at Luke, watching him watch the movie with a dreamy little smile on his face, Michael is overcome with emotion. He feels his chest tighten and his eyes fill with tears, and before he can do anything about it, they’re rolling down his face uncontrollably, and it’s all he can do not to sob. He ducks his head, tries to subtly swipe away the tears with his fingers, but there are too many. There’s no way he’s getting out of this without Luke noticing. 

A tear falls onto Luke’s bare ankle. “Aww, Mikey, are you crying?” Luke nudges Michael’s leg with his foot and Michael looks up, sheepish.

“This is so fucking embarrassing,” he mumbles.

“Is this terrible movie giving you _feels_ , Mike?” Luke continues to tease, pulling his legs off Michael’s lap so he can slide over and snuggle into Michael’s side. He lays his head on Michael’s shoulder and it’s such a familiar, comforting sensation. The weight of Luke’s head, the light scratch of stubble against Michael’s neck, the smell of Luke’s hair brushing against his face. This is the real reason Michael puts up with the romantic comedies every weekend.

Michael digs the heels of his hands into his eyes and swipes hard, trying to wipe away any evidence of his tears. “This movie is evil. They used some sort of black magic to look into my brain and see how I feel about you and then they turned it into an awful movie with bad dialogue and fucking _Black Horse and a Cherry Tree_ and I hate that it worked and I’m crying.” 

Michael can feel Luke smile into his shoulder. “It’s okay, Michael. You’re my boyfriend. You can admit you like me.”

“No, I can’t.” Michael crosses his arms over his chest defiantly.

Luke lets out a delighted giggle, little puffs of air tickling at Michael’s face. “I assure you, you can.”

“You won’t like me if I get all sappy and gross.” It’s not that he really believes it. He knows Luke loves him, knows it’s safe to be vulnerable around him. But even knowing that, it’s hard for Michael to be honest and open about how he feels. He’s not good at emotions, unless sarcasm counts as an emotion.

“Of course I will,” Luke says, running his fingers through Michael’s hair to push it back off his forehead, then placing a soft kiss on his temple. He pulls back and waits for Michael to look at him, then he smirks knowingly. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr [@staticsounds](https://staticsounds.tumblr.com/); come say hi!


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